Sharapova moves on

Maria Sharapova cruised into the last 16 with a supportive crowd following her every move in Beijing.

The Russian world No 2 has been quite popular at the China Open, with large groups of fans waiting outside the practice court for a glance of her, chanting her name and even singing for her between points.

Needless to say, they were pleased when she thrashed Romanian Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday.

"It's been great to see that support," the 25-year-old said.

"It's such a unique experience because they really appreciate what you do, and they are rooting for you and making these collages that probably take hours to make, and they are singing songs."

The Russian favorite will face Slovenian world No 90 Polona Hercog in the next round.

"Just try to figure the opponent out from the beginning and maybe concentrate on what you have to do and not so much about her," she said.

Following in Sharapova's steps, French ninth seed Marion Bartoli upset German Julia Goerges, who stunned Australian No 8 seed Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 7-6 (2), to make the quarterfinals.

Upsets continue to befall high-profile players. Former champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia lost to Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-5, 6-4, while unseeded Swiss Romina Oprandi defeated former Serb world No 1 Ana Ivanovic, 6-4, 6-3.

On the men's side, top seed Novak Djokovic thrashed Argentina's Carlos Berlocq, 6-1, 6-3, to book a quarterfinal clash against Austrian big-server Jurgen Melzer, who stunned No 6 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Russia, 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-1, in the early session.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn